Eric Dickerson: Why His NFL Single-Season Rushing Record Still Stands

The NFL's evolution to more of a passing game will only help Eric Dickerson maintain possession of the single-season rushing record.

Dickerson ran for 2,105 yards in 1984 with the Los Angeles Rams. Since then, five players have cracked the 2,000-yard mark, but Dickerson is still on top.

"They don't run the football like they did back in our time," Dickerson says. "It's all about passing the football, so it makes it even tougher."

Adrian Peterson of the Vikings came the closest with 2,097 yards in 2012.

"It's just hard," Dickerson says. "You have to commit to being that team that run the football, and in the 80s, we were that team. Us and the Redskins. We ran the football."

Dickerson set the record in his second NFL season. His best year after that was his fourth season, 1986, when he led the league with 1,821 yards.

"It's just a hard record to break," he says. "It's a lot that goes into it. I mean, I couldn't get it again. I had other opportunities. I was on the pace a couple of times. It's just tough because defenses ... when you get it once, they don't want you to have it again. They don't want you to have 2,000 yards. They make it tough. Eight, nine men in the box."

Before Dickerson, O.J. Simpson held the record of 2,003 yards. Simpson did it with the Bills in 1973 when the NFL had a 14-game regular season. The NFL expanded to 16 regular-season games in 1978. Simpson is the only player to exceed 2,000 yards in a 14-game season.